James Jay Archer (December 19, 1817 – October 24, 1864) was a lawyer and an officer in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War. He later served as a Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army (CSA) during the American Civil War. Taken as a prisoner of war on the first morning of the Battle of Gettysburg, Archer was the first general officer captured from Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.